1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a guide pulley stand for diamond wire saw cutting in stone quarries. More specifically, to a guide pulley stand for wire saw used for guiding the cutting wire when the wire saw unit is set up on the top of the object to be cut.
2. Background Information
Diamond wire cutting technology is now widely used in the stone quarrying industry. The technology utilizes a loop of diamond wire driven by a diamond wire saw unit to perform the main big cuts in the stone quarry, cutting stone surfaces of up to some 100–150 square meters or more, following any cutting direction from vertical to horizontal. Wire saw units manufactured at present comes standard with 360 degrees flywheel rotation and flywheel lateral movement allowing these machines the possibility to make multiple cuts in one set up.
Pulleys and/or pulley assemblies are normally employed to assist in making the cut as smooth and straight as possible. The “bicicletta” (bicycle; literally, a pulley stand with two pulleys) is one such assembly used to make wire saw cuts from the top the surface to be cut.
The typical “bicicletta” is an 8–10 feet long piece of metal pipe structure, 2½–3 inch in diameter, with a short peg at the bottom of its base. The base generally has provisions for anchoring said base onto the quarry floor to prevent it from moving. Eyes for hooks and/or chains are provided on the top end of the pulley stand, so that the tall structure may be held upright and rigid, by chains and turnbuckles and anchor plugs driven into the quarry floor. This set up procedure requires drilling several holes on the quarry floor.
While the “bicicletta” has proven very effective through the years, several problems may nevertheless be enumerated on its use. The complicated installation and disassembling work; the many man-hours required for manipulating, adjusting, and lining up all the pulleys; and the eventual loss in pay volume due to the holes drilled on the quarry floor, are but a few.
A need therefore exists for an improved guide pulley stand, the use of which would improve the overall productivity of the stone quarries by eliminating pay volume losses due to holes drilled on the quarry floor, as well as eliminate man-hours spent on the rigors of employing the use of the prior art. Further, it is desirable that the improved guide pulley stand be easy to set up, be made ready for actual use when needed in the least amount of time possible, and capable of effecting multiple cuts in one wire saw set up.
It is to such improved guide pulley stand that this invention is directed.